Cracking The Whip

WHEN Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu sacked five cabinet colleagues and inducted 14 fresh faces into his 15-month-old ministry on December 19, he sent a clear message. That there was no room for complacent people in his government; and that he was determined to wean the Telugu Desam Party away from the clutches of founder president N.T. Rama Rao's clan.

Naidu's move obviously rattled the NTR brigade. A humiliated Nandamuri Hari-krishna, NTR's third son was not accommodated in the cabinet and he and his followers, MLAs Piratala Ravi and Githa Venkaiah Naidu, sent in their resignations-from the party. Significantly, NTR's son and daughters boycotted the swearing in.

The wily chief minister also ensured that no partyman felt indispensable—Tam-mineni Seetaram was shifted from the all-powerful Municipal Administration department to Information and Public Relations and Tourism. Then, Naidu put to rest speculation regarding the government's proposal to lift prohibition by retaining the "minister for Implementation of Prohibition" portfolio.

The only surprise was the inclusion of A. Chandrasekhar, an MLA from Vikarabad, who figures in the FIR in the assault on the correspondent of a local daily, Vaartha. The incident had forced the government to order a judicial probe.

Naidu also ignored the claims of those who crossed over to the ruling party ranks after the 1995 August 'coup' engineered by him while forming the new team. Says he: "I took everything into consideration before finalising the list. Only competent men have been inducted. This doesn't mean that others are incompetent. They will be used for organisational work."

And no, he does not like to give importance to "individuals". "Why talk about individuals?" the chief minister shot back when someone asked why Harikrishna was not considered for a cabinet post.

That a lot of thought had gone into Naidu's gameplan was evident when he handed out the key Major and Medium Irrigation portfolio to an MLA from the backward Telengana region. The Congress had recently threatened to revive the movement for a separate state for the region, which they allege has been neglected since the state's formation in 1956.

The Telengana region lacks proper irrigation facilities though major rivers, including the Godavari and the Krishna, flow through this area—the Godavari enters Andhra Pradesh from neighbouring Maharashtra through Adilabad in the north, and the Krishna from Mahbubnagar in the south. Non-completion of some major irrigation projects, like Sriramsagar and Jurala, are considered stumbling blocks in developing Telengana. Naidu's move throws the Congress' agitation off-track for now.

On another front, pressure was mounting on Naidu to include in his cabinet disgruntled partymen. But on one pretext or another, he put off the decision. Pushed into a corner after the government was crit-icised for its shoddy handling of the devastating cyclone in the state, Naidu realised he had to incorporate more people into the ministry to oversee various departments.

However, Naidu's woes are not going to end by sharing a slice of the pie with ambitious colleagues. To run the government effectively and put it back on the road to economic prosperity, he has to take a painful decision on lifting prohibition. Last month, several TDP legislators urged the leadership to lift the dry law.

Naidu has to tide over some problems before he actually lifts prohibition. He is particularly wary of Governor Krishna Kant, whose term expires in February. Naidu aides confessed: "The chief minister fears Kant may refuse to give his assent." Kant chairs the coordination committee set up to enforce prohibition.

Lacking NTR's charisma, Naidu's survival depends on how long he can keep his flock together. Those who have been left out of the cabinet are demanding their pound of flesh. Naidu cannot even offer sops due to lack of funds. To revive the economy, the chief minister has little option but to do away with . the 'dry law' sooner than later.